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No luck.
“Deacon! What a pleasant surprise.” My aunt meets me in the foyer with her arms wide, pulling me in for a hug. “The masque is this weekend, so we can’t do our usual dinner date. Would you like to have dinner tonight?”
Glancing at my watch, I see it’s after six. “Wow, no.”
She huffs a laugh. “Don’t give it a second thought.”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize how late it is. I was just hoping I could poke around in the attic a minute.”
“The attic?” She pulls her head back frowning. “It’s so hot… and really, what on Earth—”
“I’ll just be a minute.” Sprinting up the massive wooden staircase, I climb one more and go to the back hall away from the bedrooms where the rectangular door is overhead.
Stepping back, I open it and lower the wooden ladder before charging into the stifling heat. A naked bulb is perched on a beam in the open space. It’s a framework of two by fours and insulation, and it’s hot as hell. It smells like old paper and dried goods.
Carefully, I step on a thin plank covering the wood frame of the ceiling.
“Deacon?” My aunt calls from below. “What are you looking for?”
Straightening, I look across the massive space with boxes arranged in every nook and cranny. Wasn’t I just here? Fatigue hits me like a hammer. I don’t need a permit to search this house. I can come back tomorrow, after I’ve rested.
Returning to the ladder, I slowly climb down, wiping the sweat off my brow with my sleeve and folding the wooden ladder into the door before lifting it shut.
“My goodness what a mess.” Winnie waves a hand in front of her face. “What’s come over you?”
“I was thinking about Grandma Kim… your mom.”
“I know who Grandma Kim was. Why are you so fixated on her all of a sudden?”
“You said her things were in the attic—”
“Perhaps not all of them, thankfully. Do you have any idea how hot it gets up there in the summertime?”
“I can imagine.” Rubbing my hand over my mouth, I realize how much of her stuff is probably lost. “Did she keep a diary or anything that you know of?”
“I don’t know, Deacon.” Winnie starts up the hall, waving a hand over her head. “If you’re not staying for dinner, you’ll have to excuse me. I’m hungry.”
“Okay.” I jog to catch up with her, giving her a sweaty hug, which makes her holler. “If you think of anything let me know. See you Friday.”
“Brute.” She follows me down to the door, and I catch a warm smile on her cheeks. “You’re still bringing this mystery date?”
“Yep.” My beautiful wife.
“I can’t wait.”
26
Angel
“Describe your philosophy of art.” I’m sitting on Deacon’s lap in front of his giant desktop computer filling out the Arthaus application.
It’s been a week and no sign of Mateo. Every night we’ve slept in Deacon’s penthouse apartment, with the doorman guarding us below and layers of security between us and the street.
My main worry tonight is making this deadline. “Oh, man… I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.” He nudges me in the side. “You told me all about it in El Paso.”
“I did?”
